From Publishers Weekly Traversing broiling deserts, snowy mountain passes and dank rain forests on its crooked way from Mexico to Canada, the Pacific Coast Trail is an epic challenge for die-hard backpackers. White and his girlfriend, Melissa, set out, late in the season and bereft of experience, to tread all 2,650 miles of it, leaving behind lousy reporting jobs and hoping to find self-definition and a deepened relationship. (They call their trek the Lois and Clark Expedition.) Hilarious greenhorn misadventures ensue—including the author's ill-advised chomp, while dizzy with dehydration, into a reputedly moisture-laden prickly-pear cactus—that tested their survival skills and commitment as a couple. The trail becomes less an itinerary than a world unto itself, full of squalor, discomfort and majestic scenery, and peopled by charismatic misfits and an austere cult of ultra-light speed-hikers, as the couple rely on arcane camping gear and bizarre gummy-bear-and-marshmallow diets. The wilderness authenticity the author seeks proves elusive; all journey and no destination, the story itself eventually trails off with the hero even more callow and confused than when he started. Still, White's vivid prose and hangdog humor make readers want to keep up. (June) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review "Drawing on diaries he kept at the time, White polishes up these memories, serving them forth with brio and dash…[The Cactus Eaters] brings a fresh perspective to the timeworn adventure-travel genre." -- Kirkus Reviews "In the well-written, laugh-out-loud, self-deprecating spirit of Bill Bryson’s A Walk In The Woods and Nora Ephron’s When Harry Met Sally, Dan White takes us along for a walk on the wild side of adventure and love. I could not put it down." -- Eric Blehm, National Outdoor Book Award-winning author of THE LAST SEASON. "It is a funny, frequently harrowing, and altogether mesmerizing memoir about just how wrong a backpacking expedition can go….‘The Cactus Eaters’ is far more than a Sierra Club-approved romp. It’s gorp for the soul, a fascinating and surprisingly moving testament to the call of the wild." -- Steve Almond, Boston Globe Views: 70
"Slow Birds," by Ian Watson tells the story of a strangely idyllic world which is plagues by mysterious invaders. Dubbed "slow birds," because the cylindrical objects fly at the rate of only a few feet per minute, the artefacts are a complete mystery. Jason Babbidge's life is inexorably changed and linked to the slow birds when his brother, Daniel, climbs aboard a slowbird shortly before it disappears into the unknown. Watson's story deals with Jason's quest for his brother and later the revelation which comes to him as he climbs aboard a slow bird of his own.
"Slow Birds" was nominated for the 1983 Nebula for best novelette. Views: 70
Temple Gordon is beautiful and proud, a Southern belle raised on her father's luxurious plantation. She is also a Cherokee. "The Blade" Stuart, an impulsive nearby landowner, is Cherokee as well. He and Temple share a passion for each other and a concern for their people. But, while Temple wishes to protect the Cherokee way of life, The Blade seeks to save his people from death.It's the early 1830s, and a battle rages between the Federal Government and President Jackson over the fate of Cherokee land. Temple, in the face of growing danger, wishes to stay. The Blade knows they must go. Before them is a long, tumultuous trail west. They have only their families and each other to cling to, but can their love alone see them through the pain?Previously published as THE PROUD AND THE FREE, Janet Dailey's AMERICAN DREAMS brims full of historical tragedies and unwavering courage. Readers will be moved by its intense story of passion and hope. Views: 70
Until Rod Damon--The Coxeman--saw the bikini-clad beauties flying, he really believed only the birds and the bees did it. But there was something definitely unnatural about this trio of deadly dames who try to blow him apart. How did they get up there? Who were they working for? If the enemy controlled this invention it could prove to be America’s downfall. To get his hands on their gadgets, Rod had to get to the girls. But what Rod didn’t bargain for was that the girls were dying to get their hands on him... and they weren’t planning to let him go until his heart petered out. Girding his loins in his inimitable manner, Rod plunges into the mystery with a big bang! Views: 70
Now in a paperback edition, this acclaimed memoir tells the unforgettable story of a young boy's journey from a refugee camp in Sudan to Chicago, where his family survived on welfare. Mawi followed his father's advice to "treat people . . . as though they were angels sent from heaven, " and realized his dream of a full-tuition scholarship to Harvard University. Updated with 14 black-and-white photos and a new epilogue. Views: 70
The ones you leave behind are the ones that stay with you forever... Views: 70
Tinker Bell can''t resist a quick peek at the world of winter, even though there are strict rules against warm-weather fairies crossing the border into the Winter Woods. To her surprise, her wings begin to sparkle and glow! But they also begin to freeze, and Tink barely gets back to the warm weather in time. Fascinated by what she saw, she doesn''t let the cold stop her, and she sneaks back across the border to team up with a winter fairy named Periwinkle. Soon they discover that their friendship could threaten the entire fairy realm...or it could bring warm-weather and cold-weather fairies together at last. Join the adventure with this retelling of the story from the hit movie, including eight pages of full-color stills! Views: 70
When penniless businessman Mr. Bedford retreats to the Kent coast to write a play, he meets by chance the brilliant Dr. Cavor, an absentminded scientist on the brink of developing a material that blocks gravity. Cavor soon succeeds in his experiments, only to tell a stunned Bedford that the invention makes possible one of the oldest dreams of humanity: a journey to the moon. With Bedford motivated by money, and Cavor by the desire for knowledge, the two embark on the expedition. But neither are prepared for what they find—a world of freezing nights, boiling days, and sinister alien life, in which they may be trapped forever.-First time in Penguin Classics-Includes a newly established text, a full biographical essay on Wells, suggestions for further reading, and detailed notes Views: 70
When free spirit Mallie Monroe finally decides to settle down, she hauls her antique Airstream trailer and teacup poodle to Coral Island, Florida, where she takes a reporting job at the local newspaper. Her restless, gypsy lifestyle is finally behind her.Unfortunately, her visions of paradise quickly fade during the long, hot summer. Her editor hates her writing; her poodle hates the beach; and her skin hates the blistering sun. To keep her editor happy, she registers for a local author's Summer Writers' Institute. But when the author is murdered on the eve of a tropical storm and an uptight, local cop, Detective Billie, considers Mallie a suspect, she turns her journalistic talents to investigative reporting on a story that may get her killed. Views: 70
SUMMARY: The mission was to kill the most wanted man in the world--an operation of such magnitude that it couldn’t be handled by just any military or intelligence force. The best America had to offer was needed. As such, the task was handed to roughly forty members of America’s supersecret counterterrorist unit formerly known as 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta; more popularly, the elite and mysterious unit Delta Force. The American generals were flexible. A swatch of hair, a drop of blood, or simply a severed finger wrapped in plastic would be sufficient. Delta's orders were to go into harm's way and prove to the world bin Laden had been terminated.These Delta warriors had help: a dozen of the British Queen’s elite commandos, another dozen or so Army Green Berets, and six intelligence operatives from the CIA who laid the groundwork by providing cash, guns, bullets, intelligence, and interrogation skills to this clandestine military force. Together, this team waged modern siege of epic proportions against bin Laden and his seemingly impenetrable cave sanctuary burrowed deep inside the Spin Ghar Mountain range in eastern Afghanistan. Over the years, since the battle ended, scores of news stories have surfaced offering tidbits of information about what actually happened in Tora Bora. Most of it is conjecture and speculation. This is the real story of the operation, the first eyewitness account of the Battle of Tora Bora, and the first book to detail just how close Delta Force came to capturing bin Laden, how close U.S. bombers and fighter aircraft came to killing him, and exactly why he slipped through our fingers. Lastly, this is an extremely rare inside look at the shadowy world of Delta Force and a detailed account of these warriors in battle. Views: 69
SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD LAINEY DREAMS of becoming a world famous chef one day and maybe even having her own cooking show. (Do you know how many African American female chefs there aren't? And how many vegetarian chefs have their own shows? The field is wide open for stardom!) But when her best friend--and secret crush--suddenly leaves town, Lainey finds herself alone in the kitchen. With a little help from Saint Julia (Child, of course), Lainey finds solace in her cooking as she comes to terms with the past and begins a new recipe for the future. Peppered with recipes from Lainey's notebooks, this delicious debut novel finishes the same way one feels finishing a good meal--satiated, content, and hopeful.From the Hardcover edition. Views: 69
Humans are the warheads in a lethal contest of missiles vs. long-range beams in deep space. The desperate Homo sapiens of Earth launch their experimental beamship. It’s ultra-tracking and breakthrough technology allows it to out-range the Doom Stars. The Highborn want that ship. They send swarms of missiles, knowing few will reach it. In the nosecones are their secret weapons—Free Earth Corps heroes from the Japan Campaign. Launched from the giant missiles like shells in a shotgun, Marten Kluge and his friends must ride their torps into the particle shields and storm aboard the beamship or die in the cold vacuum of space. BIO-WEAPON is the story of a suicide-ride to hell through a techno blizzard. BIO-WEAPON is a full novel, 85,000 words in length by Vaughn Heppner, Writers of the Future winner, Vol. IX. Views: 69
